Those great people at @DrinksByTheDram sent me an Advent Calendar for the run up to Christmas! For the whisky fans amongst us this makes much more sense than a chocolate one!
I was lucky enough to receive their That Boutique-y Whisky Company calendar which contains 24 different drams from distilleries around the world. With a little help from Morph (obviously not the real Morph - you can see how he started loosing his shape during the video!), here's our thoughts on each dram:
I'll share my tasting notes a day behind, as not to spoil the surprise for those who haven't opened their doors yet. You can also check out Matt's reviews TheDramble here and Sorren's OCD Whisky here!
The Boutique-y Calendar design and bottle labels are all created by Emily Chappell @e_chappell, I've included the description of each in my reviews below.
Let's see what Morph thought of the drams!
Behind Door #24 was a Tomatin 36yo Batch 5 46.8%ABV (878 bottles)
Label: We've bottled a Tomatin single malt! We bet you won't ever be able to figure out the reason behind what we've put on the label, which looks a bit like what you might see on a tin of tomatoes! Yes, the connection is so tenuous you'll never guess why the Tomatin label looks sort of like a tinned tomatoes label.
Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Gentle moorland heather, cut grass, honey and orchard fruit: apples, pears, peaches, apricots. There's also a load of orange: zest, marmalade and freshly squeezed juice. There's little hints of spice and a dryness.
Palate: Thick mouthcoating arrival, apples and oranges from the nose with a big bite of ginger spice. The fruit has turned a little tropical: icing sugar dusted dried pineapple, a little mango and some kiwi. There's loads of honey and a little Turkish Delight. This kind of age demands time. A little more nosing and sipping reveals a little oak, malt and butterscotch. The dryness hinted at in the nose doesn't materialise - this is very fruity, mouth watering and moreish. Yummy!
Finish: Lingering tropical fruit, honey and gentle ginger spice.
Thoughts: A beautiful fruity dram that reward time and patience, a lovely way to finish off my advent calendar for 2021!
Behind Door #23 was a Croftengea 14yo Batch 3 49.5% ABV (503 bottles)
Label: Loch Lomond is an adaptable distillery in the Highlands, producing a wide variety of whisky styles, from blends to blended malts, from single malts to single grains. Their selection of stills allows this - they have copper pots stills, a Coffey still and column stills in the same building! Well, at least that what some people say. Other people have opened their eyes to the real world and discovered the truth about how they can produce such a varied selection of whiskies - the distillers at Loch Lomond are wizards. The lot of them! Wizards, we tells ya! We even took this very real picture of one of the very real wizards/distillers and put it on the label of our Loch Lomond! Similar to our Loch Lomond label but, naturally a different whisky requires different magical ingredients so who knows what the wizard is bubbling in his cauldron?
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Dry vegetal peat smoke, grilled aubergine, almonds, a little stewed orchard fruit and a bite of citrus.
Palate: Thick mouthcoating arrival, sweet honey to start, a little dry apricot, some marzipan and a bite of ginger spice to finish. The smoke is ever present - dry and ashy. There's a little sour grapefruit as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering dry smoke, ginger spice and a little honey.
Thoughts: Some sites will tell you that Croftengea is Loch Lomond's peatiest whisky, the distillery doesn't use the name anymore so won't comment, I don't think it is. The bottle of 12yo Inchmoan I keep going back to on a cold winter's night is peatier than this. It's a nice dram, don't get me wrong, a lovely balance of smoke, sweetness and spice.
Behind Door #22 was a Whitlaw 15yo Batch 1 49.7% ABV (979 bottles)
Label: Another single malt from an unidentified Highland island distillery, but wait a minute… Haven't we seen this label before? The Whitlaw name has been associated with Highland Park in the past, and so our Whitlaw label is very similar to our Highland Park label, almost identical for some reason... which show a masterclass where we launched TBWC at Maltstock, the whisky weekend held just south of Nijmegen each year. Our label features those who attended the masterclass, but as ever, there is more to it than that. The setting is within the ruins of Overasselt where pieces of clothing are still tied to the tree to bring luck and cure disease. Then there’s the ghost of King Charlemagne himself, now what could that mean?
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, forms small beads almond immediately which fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Heathery peat smoke, orchard fruit, honey and a little shortbread. There's some spicy orange marmalade notes here too.
Palate: Thick mouthcoating arrival, sweet and spicy at the same time. The orchard fruit from the nose is here: apples, pears and drying apricots; alongside orange zest, honey & butterscotch sweetness and a little hint of salt. The peat smoke is there in the background but never dominates the dram. A spicy ginger note as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering ginger spice, orange zest and a little smoke.
Thoughts: It's a Highland Park and it's good, I've had a few really good HPs this year, all from indie bottlers in that sweetspot range of 12-18yo. Yummy!
Behind Door #21 was a Irish Single Malt #1 13yo Batch 3 46.8% ABV (1726 bottles)
Label: Ah, lovely Irish whiskey! Booming now, but it wasn’t so many years ago that the number of distilleries dwindled precariously, all joining forces at one stage simply to survive. It should also be remembered, however, that Irish whiskey has a long and glorious history and was the most popular spirit in the world back in the 19th century including (whisper it...) in Scotland!
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Orchard fruit notes straight out of the glass: apples, pears & apricots. There's some cherry pie dusted with icing sugar and notes of vanilla, porridge and a little citrus.
Palate: Smooth fruity arrival with a little gentle spice. It's the orchard fruit from the nose but it's turning a little tropical - some dried pineapple and coconut. Some almonds and icing sugar dryness with a bit of lemon zest. There's some stem ginger sweetness with a bite of spice. Nice!
Finish: Lingering citrus and icing sugar.
Thoughts: A lovely dram, I've tried both the previous batches and this one measures up well. I don't know where this one is from, I thought Irish #2 was Bushmills but this one is very similar....
Behind Door #20 was a Speyburn 10yo Batch 3 49.5% ABV (1540 bottles)
Label: Founded in 1897, the Speyburn distillery is a much photographed Victorian classic by Charles Doig. (Go on Google it, there are lots and lots). There’s lots of interesting facts about the Speyburn distillery but we’ve decided to incorporate Speyburn’s unofficial brand ambassador, Jan Birch’s theory that Speyburn owes its unique flavour to the Victorian Salmon Cannon used in its production.
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line which beads up slowly and falls as slow thin legs.
Nose: Salted caramel, milk chocolate, a little orchard fruit: apples, pears & apricots and some spiced vanilla.
Palate: Thick sweet arrival, huge peppery spice notes, there's a little salted caramel and tropical fruit from the nose alongside a loads of lemon meringue pie, vanilla and a little fresh baked bread. Ginger notes left on the tongue as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering salted lemons.
Thoughts: OK, I Googled him : Charles Chree Doig, the man woo designed the Chinese-style, kiln pagoda so many distilleries have today, regarded as a symbol of Scotch whisky distilling throughout the world. Doig was born on a farm in 1855, the son of a Kirriemuir agricultural labourer. When he was 25, Doig married Margaret Isabella Dick, in 1882 the family moved to Elgin, where Doig joined the practice of a land surveyor named Harbourne Marius Strachan Mackay. Specialising in distilling projects, he ran his own practice by 1890, designing the stills and other equipment to fit into them. In total, he is credited with involvement in no fewer than 56 distilleries. In terms of the whisky Speyburn is very under the radar, a couple of cheap supermarket bottlings are available, but you just don't see it around. I lot goes into InverHouse blends such as MacArthur's. This is a really nice dram, a little spicier than your run of the mill Speysider.
Behind Door #19 was a Bourbon Whiskey #1 24yo Batch 1 48% ABV (8376 bottles)
Label: Now, now go about your business please - there’s nothing to see here. Don’t you know you’re in a restricted area? No unauthorised personnel allowed.
Appearance: Dark gold, almost bronze in the glass, swirls clings as a thin line, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sprinkles, hazelnuts and a squirt of lemon syrup (is there such a thing?) This is a complex dram which deserves time which rewards you with honey, almonds, black cherries and a little icing sugar. Chilli and cardamom spices dominate.
Palate: Thick slightly sour arrival, huge spice notes to start which fade to reveal the cherries from the nose alongside toffee, hazelnut and lemon meringue. There's some orange zest, oak and mixed fruit jam. The spice comes back as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering spice, jam and vanilla notes.
Thoughts: 8,376 bottles is a huge number, even in TBWC's 50cl bottles that somewhere north of 18 casks or so - where do you find 18 casks of 24yo bourbon? Wherever they got these from it's good stuff, you don't normally see bourbon at anywhere near this age. I'd love to know which distillery it's from...
Behind Door #18 was a Jura 20yo Batch 5 48.2% ABV (901 bottles)
Label: Our label reference's George Orwell's 1984, which the legendary author wrote while on Jura. It's also got a reference to Jura's overwhelming deer popular. It’s all been done in the style of communist era Russia propaganda poster from the 1980s.
Appearance: Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Stewed apples and pears, a little fresh baked bread, honey, caramel and vanilla. There's a little salt and a little smoke, some pine needles and a hint of mixed nuts.
Palate: Thick oily mouth coating arrival, chewy even. Sweet breads, dried fruit, vanilla and some tropical fruit notes. The salt is still there but the smoke is difficult to find. A few more sips and the tropical fruit comes to the fore - pineapple, kiwi and banana notes with a little ginger spice.
Finish: Lingering tropical fruit, vanilla, salt and ginger spice.
Thoughts: This is a different Jura to what you find in the core range, obviously older than the supermarket bottlings and that age has given a complexity that most Jura drinkers won't find. It's lightly peated, I prefer a bit more in my Jura but it's still very nice.
Behind Door #17 was a Irish Single Malt No.2 15yo Batch 6 50.2% ABV (1900 bottles)
Label: Aeneas Coffey was the Irishman who improved upon Robert Stein's column stills and patented his own Coffey (say 'coffee') Still in 1830. His new, more efficient piece of kit was soon adopted all around the world, except, ironically, in Ireland. In fact, the Irish* told him to jog on! They were understandably rather attached to their pot stills and the full flavoured single malts and single pot still whiskeys they produced.
Appearance: mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up quickly to form an inverted crown and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Stewed orchard fruit: apples, pears, apricots; a little honey and vanilla. A little time and air offers gingerbread and lemon bonbons.
Palate: Smooth thick arrival, peppery spice and honey combining to coat the mouth. The orchard fruit from the nose are here, the apricot leaving a dryness that's accentuated by icing sugar. Some nutty toffee and a hint of milk chocolate round off a lovely dram.
Finish: Lingering tropical fruit, dry icing sugar and peppery spice.
Thoughts: This reminds me an awful lot of a couple of single cask ex-bourbon Bushmills I've tried in the past, lovely orchard fruit and citrus!
Behind Door #16 was a Glengoyne 17yo Batch 1 49.1% ABV (1204 bottles)
Label: Our label highlights the distillery straddling the A81, the road which officially demarcates Highlands from Lowlands and also the West Highland Way. The A81 road is made of hot coals due to fact that the name of the farm distillery was Burnfoot when founded in 1833 - one of our shockingly bad puns! In 1876 it was renamed Glen Guin, and from 1905 Glengoyne.
Appearance: Dark gold almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Sherry bomb territory - thick blackcurrant jam, strawberries, cherries, figs, dates and musty dunnage warehouse notes. There's some baked apples stuffed with dried fruit and nuts, a little honey and some freshly baked bread.
Palate: Thick oily arrival, treacle toffee and coffee notes. The figs and dates from the nose are back with some dark chocolate. There's some peppery spice before brown sugar and walnuts leave a sweet dry oakiness in the mouth as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Long dry oakiness, some dried fruit and a little peppery spice.
Thoughts: This reminded me a lot of the Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter 1, a lovely dram showing what a 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry does to Glengoyne's excellent spirit. Although we aren't told how the TBWC was matured of finished I'd put my house on it being oloroso!
Behind Door #15 was an Islay #1 10yo Batch 3 47.9% ABV (534 bottles)
Label: A bit like that delicious 'Secret' whisky with the handsome chap on the front saying "Shhh!", this Islay single malt shall remain shrouded in mystery. Gosh darn it. I just gave away the island it's from, didn't I? Hmm... Lucky there are no further clues on the label...
Appearance: pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: typical bonfire on a beach stuff, smoky bacon, embers, maritime breeze, seaweed. There is a huge citrus note here too and some underlying tropical fruit.
Palate: Thick oily arrival, gritty even, Campbeltown-esc but this is definitely from Islay. The peat smoke is there from the start along the the salt and citrus from the nose but there's also some sweetness: honey, pineapple and a little mango.
Finish: Lingering peat smoke, salt and citrus.
Thoughts: It's a Caol Ila - enough said!
Behind Door #14 was a Millstone 4yo Batch 3 49% ABV (1925 bottles)
Label: Dutch whisky from Zuidam, where the malted barley is milled using windmills! The aptly named Millstone single malt is the brainchild of Patrick Zuidam, who presumably used 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple in a world of pure imagination...
Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Interesting candle wax note, engine oil and furniture polish. These give way to blackcurrant jam, sherry soaked dried fruit, toffee and almonds. There's a hint of smoke and some rye spices.
Palate: Thick sweet arrival: berry jam, honey and toffee. Thick cut orange marmalade and milk chocolate coat the tongue. There's a hint of Elastoplast and parma violets before a sour grapefruit note as the liquid disappears leaving a dry cinnamon spice.
Finish: lingering cinnamon spice, orange marmalade and milk chocolate
Thoughts: I've tried a number of Millstone Ryes before and this one from a pair of PX hogsheads shares some of the characteristics. It may only be 4 years old but you'd never guess. This is a smoky sherry bomb with medicinal notes, it might be a single malt but they've managed to put some rye notes into it too. Lovely!
Behind Door #13 was a Miltonduff 10yo Batch 7 50.6% ABV (1183 bottles)
Label: The Miltonduff distillery lives in the Speyside region, producing oodles of tasty whisky, with a generous portion making its way into blends - with Ballantine’s featuring Miltonduff as one of its defining malts. For a short while during the latter half of the 1900s, Miltonduff housed a pair of Lomond stills, the whisky from which was called Mosstowie. Less than 20 years later, the Lomond stills were decommissioned, making Mosstowie whisky rather rare indeed. On the label for our Miltonduff, you can see Dick Beach, the MWP for Miltonduff, campaigning along with the Loch Ness Whisky Parliament.
Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and fall as thick slow legs.
Nose: Orange zest, stewed pears covered in vanilla custard, barley sugars and golden syrup to start, a complex nose that rewards a little time. There's some hints of a peppery spice to come.
Palate: Smooth sweet oily arrival, a little orchard fruit, some citrus: mouthcoating sweetness of honey and brown sugar, a little dry pear, some orange zest. A bite of peppery spice as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering citrus and peppery spice. Nice!
Thoughts: Another distillery from which you don't see many distillery bottlings, most of their output goes into the Ballantine’s blend range. This is a typical fruit, spicy Speysider but with a good level of complexity.
Behind Door #12 was a Santis 10yo Batch 1 51.4% ABV (916 bottles)
Label: The distillery sits on top of a Swiss ski slope lined with trees. Distillery owner, Karl Locher, is dressed as Blofeld, cradling a bottle of whisky instead of a cat. He screams, “Let your hangovers be particularly unpleasant and humiliating!”. Chased by Russian henchmen, two guys make their escape on a barrel-like snowmobile holding between them a Glencairn glass, a half empty bottle and a Walther PPK - very dramatic.
Appearance: a dark gold in the glass, swirls fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Toffee, vanilla and red berries jump out initially but after a little time in the glass the berries fade and musty bookshop notes reveal themselves. Hints of stewed pears and custard.
Palate: Thick almost oily arrival with a little lemon then a huge kick of spice and a little bitterness. Sweet toffee and berry notes from the nose develop alongside a drying effect and hints again of that musty bookshop.
Finish: Not overly long but the ABV gives a lovely warming effect, toffee and custard again a little hint of lemon.
Thoughts: A lovely dram, it's had an unusual maturation with ex beer, bourbon and wine casks and they add to the complexity of the nose and palate. Drying from the wine, musty bookshop from the beer? Loads of berry and toffee notes throughout make this an interesting and complex dram - worth hunting out!
Behind Door #11 was a Glendullan 16yo Batch 3 48.8% ABV (469 bottles)
Label: Our bottling of Glendullan single malt Scotch whisky features a scene from the Space Olympics on the label. Is this a premonition of where we will one day end up - doing hurdles on the rings of Saturn? Launching shot puts between meteors? Competing for the gold medal in skateboarding in a crater?! We can only hope. What does this all have to do with whisky? Little to nothing. Enjoy.
Appearance: Very pale gold, almost transparent which for a 16yo is very strange - life time in a refill cask? Swirls cling as a thin line which takes an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Stewed orchard fruit: apples and pears; grassy heathery notes, honey and a prickle of peppery spice. There's a little cereal and some butterscotch.
Palate: Thick creamy arrival, mouthcoating orchard fruit and honey sweetness with a little dried fruit. This is balanced with a lot of ginger spice and some marzipan dryness. There's a lot of lemon zest left in the mouth as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Short, spicy and hot, pears, golden syrup and ginger.
Thoughts: You don't see many distillery bottlings from Glendullan, the most recent being a Game Of Thrones release, it's usually makes it way into Diageo's blends or as one of the triplets in the Singleton range. Although initially aimed at different markets: Glen Ord for Asia, Glendullan for the US and Canada, and Dufftown for Europe they are all now available worldwide. This example from TBWC is thick and fruity - nice!
Behind Door #10 was a James E Pepper 4yo Batch 3 (Rye) 50% ABV (356 bottles)
Label: Set in an old school soda float shop, smartly dressed distillery owner Amir is having his order taken. Against a backdrop of all kinds of sweet treats, he chooses from three barrel shaped soda fountains and for this time, he goes for an Oloroso.
Appearance: Bronze in colour, swirls leave a thick line in the glass which beads up slowly and falls as slow thick legs.
Nose: Huge rye spices, param violets, flat coke and fresh rolled marzipan. There's some floral notes, cereal hints and maybe a whiff of hoppy bitterness.
Palate: Thick smooth arrival, toffee popcorn and the flat coke from the nose. Then the spice kicks in, pepper, chilli, cardamom. A little brown sugar, orange zest and the marzipan note from the nose add to the sweetness. Then as the liquid disappears it all goes dry and slightly bitter. Nice.
Finish: Lingering rye spice, bitter hops and a hint of citrus - nice.
Thoughts: The third in the set of TWBC James E. Pepper Rye bottlings, Batch 1 was Oloroso finished, Batch 2 was PX and this Batch 3 is Ale. I enjoyed the first two and this one is nice but in a different way - the ale finish shines through - a little bitterness on the nose but very drying and bitter on the palate
Behind Door #9 was a Balblair 7yo Batch 1 49.9% ABV (1305 bottles)
Label: The label is inspired by the film Angel’s Share and features the Balblair distillery with its lettered barrels out the front of the distillery. Two kilted men disguised as hikers, and hiding behind bushy sprigs, have bottles poking out of their rucksacks which almost look like Irn Bru. You need to watch the movie, as some of it was filmed at the Balblair distillery.
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thin oily legs.
Nose: Orchard fruit: pears, apples, apricots; cereal, shortbread, sweet honey with hints of toffee and vanilla. There's a grassy note, a little salt and some peppery spice.
Palate: Sharp spicy arrival: pepper and cinnamon gives way to stewed orchard fruit: apples and pears with a little dried fruit. a little salted caramel and lemon zest as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Sweet and spicy - honey and peppery spice.
Thoughts: A little different from previous Balblair's I've tried, much more spicy but still full of the characteristic Balblair cereal, orchard fruit and citrus. Nice.
Behind Door #8 was a Longmorn 10yo Batch 3 48.3% ABV (1793 bottles)
Label: Back in 1894, the Longmorn distillery was founded in Speyside. Four years later, the founder John Duff founded a second distillery a couple hundred metres from Longmorn, called Longmorn 2: Electric Boogaloo (maybe not that last part, but it was called Longmorn 2 until it became BenRiach). The two distilleries worked together, and eventually had a private railroad built between them to transport barley, peat and other sundries. In fact, if you visit Longmorn today, you’ll find a steam engine in the distillery - a sneak peek of which you can see on our Longmorn label.
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line which morphs into beads which fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Orange marmalade, stewed orchard fruit and some heather notes. There's some almond nuttiness, meringue and a little spice.
Palate: Sweet thick zesty arrival - mouth coating lemon notes: lemon meringue pie, lemon bonbons and lemon drizzle cake. There's some honey to balance the lemon zing and a little peppery spice. Toffee and shortbread notes left on the tongue as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering lemon pepper!
Thoughts: Yet another distillery who's output is used mainly for blends, this time Pernod Ricard's Chivas range. I've previously bought a bottle of the distillery's 16yo and it didn't last long, this one is equally as good.
Behind Door #7 was a Teaninich 10yo Batch 3 49.2% ABV (xxx bottles)
Label: Based on a true love story from many years ago about Captain Hugh Munro (founder of this distillery). He was shot in the head behind his eyes but, he survived! Unsurprisingly, he lost his eyesight as a result. His sweetheart was forbidden from marrying him due to his condition, so she married someone else. Despite their differing paths, she continued to love him and as her dying wish, visited the church to see him one last time.
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly forming an inverted crown before eventually falling as slow thin legs.
Nose: Wet grass, hints of heather, citrus zest and honey. A little time and air offers some red toffee apple and a little ginger spice.
Palate: Orchard fruit: apples, pears and drying apricot; cinnamon spice, runny honey with a note of toffee. There's a little burnt sugar - smoke even? Loads of spice towards the end of each sip! Yummy! There's a tart grapefruit or maybe gooseberry note as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering orchard fruit and cinnamon spice.
Thoughts: Another distillery who's output is used mainly for blends, Teaninich is also unique in being the only distillery in Scotland which uses a hammer mill (more info here) that you can drink, InchDairnie's will be coming along soon! How much difference this makes to the taste of the whisky I'm not sure but I'm sure it improves yields. Regardless, this is a lovely dram, a robust Highlander with fruit, spice and maybe even a hint of smoke?
Behind Door #6 was a Aberlour 8yo Batch 7 49.6% ABV (3421 bottles)
Label: Founded way back in 1826, the Aberlour distillery has long been producing some splendid single malts in the Speyside town which shares its name. Though they have a reputation for producing some generously well-Sherried drams, their creamier, vanilla-rich expressions do pique our interest too! The label on our Aberlour bottling features the Mash Tun whisky bar in Aberlour - though who’s that nervous fellow peeking out of the window?
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Lemon meringue pie, lemon drizzle cake, lemon bonbons, it's just all lemon! There's some honey sweetness, a little stewed apple and some icing sugar.
Palate: Light and refreshing on the tongue, the stewed apples and joined by some pears and drying apricots - it's all orchard fruit now - the lemon all but disappeared. There's a big bite of ginger spice, some milk chocolate and some icing sugar.
Finish: Lingering orchard fruit and ginger spice.
Thoughts: It's young, it's been in a very inactive set of casks but it's perfectly drinkable - I'm not picking up an new make type notes, it's well past that, and if you ignore the colour you' be hard pressed to go any lower than 12yo. It's the kind of dram you could sit and enjoy whilst chatting, an uncomplicated easy drinker!
Behind Door #5 was a Cambus 28yo Batch 11 47% ABV (435 bottles)
Label: Here we have our bottling of single grain Scotch whisky from the closed Cambus distillery. Founded back in the early 1800s, Cambus happily produced its whiskies until 1913, when a fire halted production and forced the distillery to close until 1938. The doors of Cambus were open once again until 1993, when they shut for their final time. If you’re really into your Cambus whiskies, you’ll surely pick out all the subtle references found on the label of our bottling of Cambus single grain. You could even circle them and put it on your mantlepiece to show off to all your friends about how much you know about Cambus. Clever clogs.
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up immediately and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Huge vanilla ice cream notes but otherwise a little closed. A little time, air and some swirling offers little hints of lemon meringue pie, sawdust and a little bready yeast.
Palate: Smooth thick mouthcoating arrival, the vanilla ice cream from the nose is here and a bite of peppery spice. There's some toffee popcorn, coconut, orchard fruit and milk chocolate.
Finish: Lingering vanilla and a little citrus zing.
Thoughts: To be honest I was expecting a bit more from this one - a 28yo single grain should be special and this is just ordinary. Don't get me wrong it's a nice dram but I was expecting more.
Behind Door #4 was a Macduff 10yo Batch 8 50.2% ABV (1160 bottles)
Label: The Macduff distillery was founded in the 1960s and is kitted out with five stills, four of which have lyne arms that are rather oddly arranged, with one of the wash stills’ lyne arms being U-shaped too, just so they’ll all fit in the still room! They don’t release whisky themselves under their own name - they release it under the name The Deveron. This is why the name Macduff might be more familiar to you from Shakespeare’s play, ‘Macbeth’. We’ve even put one of the deleted scenes from the play on the label of our Macduff bottling. Press the stopper down to hear the director’s commentary from Shakespeare himself (probably a lie).
Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls form a thin line which beads up immediately and falls as slow thick legs.
Nose: Fresh cut wood, salted caramel and some gentle smoke. There's some orchard fruit as a base, little in the way of spice, a little honey sweetness and some melted milk chocolate.
Palate: Barley sugars to start, the ABV gives a warmth and a peppery spice bite. Then we're into warm apple strudel smothered in hot vanilla custard - yummy! Mouthcoating sweetness offered by honey and toffee. The dried fruit suggesting sherry but I think this is all ex-bourbon. The spice increases as the liquid disappears.
Finish: Lingering sweetness, dry icing sugar and ginger spice.
Thoughts: Most of the output from Macduff goes into blends, their own limited bottlings being labelled as Glen Deveron or The Deveron after the river that runs past the distillery. Supermarket fodder which is OK, but this is in a different league - fruit, spice and a hint of smoke combining nicely.
Behind Door #3 was a Islay #3 13yo Batch 4 48.6% ABV (1479 bottles)
Label: A well-known scene you may have seen before perhaps? Maybe from another timeline? Yes, it's Jon and Mike from LivingRoom Whisky celebrating their sci-fi-tastic victory at That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s "Islay Ultra Competition Showdown Throwdown Extravaganza To The Extreme Lucky Best Time" Try saying that after a few! This is, as the label says, from a famous Islay distillery, and it's a heavily peated expression, too.
Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line which takes an age to bead and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Typical bonfire on a beach stuff - smoke, maritime breeze, smoky bacon crisps, maybe a hint of iodine? There's a little orchard fruit and some honey here too.
Palate: Smooth sweet arrival, the fruit has turned tropical and is joined by some honey and brown sugar. Dried pineapple, mango and a little banana combine with a gingery spice to leave a fruity note on the tongue. Then as the liquid disappears the smoke kicks in but it's not overpowering as suggested by the nose.
Finish: Lingering dry smoke, ginger spice and a little citrus.
Thoughts: Common opinion is that this is a Laphroaig, it is a little one dimensional like their 10yo, you need to get into the single casks at a higher ABV to get any complexity
Behind Door #2 was a Penderyn 6yo Batch 1 50% ABV (237 bottles)
Label: Our label simply shows a recreation of their unique still set up. The artist’s hand is holding a beautiful red pencil with the texture of dragon scales, symbolising the red dragon on the Welsh flag.
Notice the signet ring with a swan on it? It’s a nod to both their Welsh Gold logo, and the late Dr. Jim Swan who was consulted on the original setup of the distillery. They use a one of a kind pot still designed by Dr David Faraday, a relative of inventor Michael Faraday.
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line which beads up slowly and falls as slow thin legs.
Nose: This one is a bit weird - floral herbal notes almost gin like, with orchard fruit and a hint of citrus. There's a little vanilla, cardamom and some faint smoke notes.
Palate: Thin but syrupy, mouthcoating sweetness. That herbal note is back along with a big bite of peppery spice. It's a little soapy with notes of liquorice and orange marmalade.
Finish: Lingering sweet honey soap and peppery spice.
Thoughts: I didn't like this one at all, very gin like, very soapy and not at all like a whisky - sorry.
Behind Door #1 was a Glen Elgin 12yo Batch 5 at 49.1% ABV (1830 bottles)
Label: Glen Elgin was one of the last distilleries to be built in the 19th Century, but the infamous marble smuggler Lord Elgin, pictured alongside his magnificent white steed on our label, wouldn't have known the distillery during his lifetime as he died some 57 years before it was founded. His horse, however, went on to build a distillery named after his master, as well as produce his own legendary label of Blended Scotch Whisky. Such a clever wee horse (this may not be an accurate statement)
Nose: As soon as this one is poured it's huge orchard fruit notes with spice: apples, pears, apricots and ginger. There's some honey, toffee and a little green banana. A little time and air offers some shortbread notes.
Palate: Thick, mouthcoating, arrival, immediately dry and spicy with ginger and cloves. The orchard fruit has turned all tropical: icing sugar coated dried pineapple, banana and kiwi. There's a lovely lemon zest note as the liquid disappears!
Finish: Lingering lemon zest, ginger spice and a hint of smoke.
Thoughts: Glen Elgin is well under the radar of most whisky drinkers, a Diageo workhorse for their White Horse blend there aren't many releases, I think I've only ever bought one bottle. This is a lovely Speyside malt, loads of the typical orchard fruit and honey notes you'd associate with the region but with a little more spice - lovely - well worth finding a bottle!
Video
You probably noticed that in my Morph video at the top of the blog he looks a little worse for wear at the end compared to the beginning! It was really fun to do but took 4 hours and Morph sampled a few of the drams as we went along. Here are a couple of outtakes:
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